"Over
all the centuries of its development, many sword techniques were
created. Often, due to lack of communication and secrecy,
confusion in terminology is common today. Often, the same basic
technique has several different names, given by different styles.
Occasionally, even techniques with the same name can be slightly or very
much different from each other. Therefore, when you start learning
these key techniques, you should not be confused and restrict you mind
in the areas of terminology and narrow technical meanings. Cast
your mind widely, and absorb as much information as possible."
- Yang Jwing-Ming, Taiji Sword, Classical Yang Style, 1999,
p. 53.
Dr. Yang carefully describes 30 sword techniques and uses many numbered
photographs to illustrate these 30 techniques.

Stab,
Thrust, Pierce, Thrusting, Prick, Prod
Thrusting with two hands on sword hilt
Thrust, Pierce (Tz'u)
Pierce: 皮尔斯皮爾斯
Thrust: 推力推力刺 Ci4 or Qi4 stab,
pierce, thorn, sting, irritate, prick, thrust, assassinate, murder
The technique Ci is to thrust forward with the tip of the sword
to stab the opponent. The blade is held in a vertical or
horizontal position when you thrust forward to stab. The right arm
and blade are held in one straight line at the end of the stab. In
Taiji sword one normally steps forward into a bow or twisted step stance
when one thrusts the sword forward to stab. A thrust forward to
stab is a precise, direct, to the point, tip of the sword strike.

Split, Hack, Chop, Split Open, Chopping, Cut Apart, Split,
Splitting
Chop: 剁剁
Split: 分裂分裂劈
Pi1 Pi3Pek hack; chop; split open
The technique Split (劈)
is to hold the sword above the head and then to draw the blade down to
cut. This is to chop downward from the top: vertical downward
chopping. The sword blade is held in a vertical position.
Imagine taking a two handed axe and splitting the piece of wood in two:
up and down, up and down. In Taiji sword one usually steps forward
into a bow stance as they use the Split (劈)
technique.
This technique is also sometimes called Kan (Kan3, 砍) : to hack, chop, cut,
fell. The technique Kan is to chop downward but to chop
sideways a bit more and with the blade angled more. Imagine
felling a tree, cutting into its side, up and down at an angle.

11.

Intercept
Jie 截

Intercept,
Cut Off, Stop, Obstruct, Cutting, Intercept,
Intercepting a Downward Cut
Intercept and Attack
Intercept: 截住截住
Intercepting: 拦截攔截
Cutting: 切口切口切 Cut, Mince,
Slice, Carve Qie, Chai, Cai Chieh 攔截 拦截 lánjié
intercept拦
Lan2 Obstruct, impede, bar, hinder截
Jie2 Cut off, stop, obstruct, intercept
The technique Jie is to quickly attack the opponent's wrist as he
stabs (Ci) towards you. You can tuck or squat down,
or rise up high, or spin to the side to avoid the opponent's stab, as
you respond by using the sharp end of the sword to attack the opponent's
wrist from the top down, bottom up, right side or left side, from the
outside or inside.

Slicing, cutting, mincing, to carve.切 Cut, Mince,
Slice, Carve Che,
Qie1, Chai3, Cai, Chieh, Ch'an Ch'an: Slicing. Che.
Drag the sword across the opponents body.
With the right hand holding the weapon, slice the blade edge
horizontally across before drawing the weapon close to your body.Cutting the weapon from the back of your body to either the front or
upwards. It could also be done by moving the weapon from the left to the right
or upwards.

Typically a chop is a swing of the sword from one
side of the body, from
shoulder height to shoulder height. A straight chop is a swing
from the right side to the left side ending in a bow stance, arm at the
side, palm up.. A reverse chop is a swing from the left side to
the right side, ending with a bow stance, with free arm pointed at
shoulder height, palm down.

Blocking, to cut off, to hinder, to stop, to bar the way, to
obstruct, to impede, to hinder, obstructing.
拦Lan2,
Laan4, Fan,
lan2
jie2,
lan2
zhu4Lan: Obstructing. To block with the sword.
A defensive technique: with the tip of the blade facing down, use
the edge to block an incoming weapon.
Deflecting with the rear side of the broadsword

劈
Pi1 Pi3Pek"Can" hack; chop;
split open. Chopping towards the left or right in a downwards manner.
To attack while holding the wrist flexed.

Typically, the sword is swung from about chest height downward from one
side of body to opposite side. The swing is wide and downward.
The empty hand ends up resting on the forearm of the hand holding the
sword. Think of swinging a had axe into the side of a small tree to
cut it down - multiple strikes or hacks required to fell the small tree.
Gaze downward along the hacking sword. The body and legs move from
a standing position into a bow stance.

Stab, pricking,
thrust, thrusting, to pierce, to stab, to prick, to prod, to poke
Thrust, Pierce (Tz'u)
Pierce: 皮尔斯皮爾斯
Thrust: 推力推力
Stab:
朿Ci4刺 Ci4, Qi4, Chi3, Sik4, "Sue" thorn; sting; prick; pierce; stab; thrust; assassinate; murder扎 Zha1
To prick, to run a stick into, run a needle into.
Typically, the sword is thrust forward, with one hand, sharp blade facing
down, fingers of left hand touching the right hand, in a bow stance.
The gaze and force of the thrust (stab, prick, poke) are directed to the
tip of the sword. The whole arm and the broadsword will form a straight line.
In Chen Taijiquan this kind of stab or thrust is often accompanied by a
shaking motion the sword as muscular enegry (Jing) and the flow
of Qi energy is sent into the end of the sword.

7.

Sweep
洗Xi

Brush Off, Sweep Away, Clean Off,
Wash, Shuttling,
Catching Liao (Swing, Flicking, Twirling), Shao or Sao3 (Sweeping)
Catch: 抓住抓住洗 Xi3
To wash, to clean off, to purge, to brush off 扫 Sao3
To sweep away, to clean, to brush off, to whisk away While the tip is facing down, flick it upwards. The force is
focused on the tip.

Pull Out, Pulling, Cutting Out, Cutting, Whip, Slash Across or Out,
Extract, Cut Out
Pull or drag from one side to the other
Cut: 裁减裁減
Cutting: 切口切口
Slash: 深砍深砍
Pull: 拉扯拉扯抽 Chou1 To extract, to pull
out, to draw out, to cut
out, to pump out, sprout

13.

Dai 带

Deflect,
Carry, Leading, Deflecting, Slicing
(Che), Lead, CarryingT'ai: Take along (skim) from one side to the other
Deflect: 偏转偏轉
Carry: 运载運載帶 带 dài
band; belt; girdle; ribbon; area; zone; region; wear; carry; lead; bring
带 Dai4 To lead, to carry, to bring, to raise, to circle
Deflection:
This is done in a circular movement with the blade edge moving from a low
position to a high position.

"The Chen-style Taiji Single Broadsword routine is short and
refined, the usages of the forms are clear. There are thirteen kinds of
slicing, hacking, blocking,
cutting, pricking, rolling, closing, scooping, cross-cutting,
twisting, shaking, supporting, and tilting. They really reflect
the characteristics of the Chen-style Taiji Single Broadsword, combining
hardness and softness in harmony, equaling stress the quickness and slowness,
dodging and transfers, relaxing and nimble, springing and shaking, sticking to
each other without being separated, twine to neutralize the force."
- Chen Zhenglei, Chen Style Taijiquan, Sword and Broadsword,
2003, p. 322

"When performing the broadsword routine, the practitioner alternates between the
body leading the broadsword and the broadsword leading the body.
Techniques must be precise, clearly fulfilling the application requirements.
Traditionally, the weapon has thirteen different techniques attributed to it: gun
(parrying by turning to the left); bi (parrying by closing to the
right); zha (thrust); lan (deflecting with the rear
side of the broadsword); pi (chopping vertically); kan
(cutting); liao (circular deflection with point facing upwards);
jie (blocking with the edge); chan (circular twisting);
dou (shaking); jia (raising opponent's weapon overhead);
mo (slicing either levelly or diagonally upwards); and tiao
(upward flicking motion using the top of the weapon)."
- Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim and David Gaffney, Chen Style Taijiquan,
2002, p. 179.

"Tai Chi Saber techniques include chop, split, cut,
intercept, uppercut, downward cut, thrust, winding, blocking, withdrawing,
sliding, slicing, and peeling."
In the form one movement has many techniques and it is very difficult to
distinguish each one in the movement. Follow the intent of the saber skill,
saber technique, and saber movement. Practice the 13 techniques."
-
Master Yang Zhen Duo, Yang-style Broadsword

"Laojia Chen style Taijiquan features one major broad sword (knife)
form, consisting of 23 postures. The 13 techniques found in the form include
chopping, chopping with the back, crossing, cutting, dodging, flicking, hanging,
intercepting, lifting, piercing, splitting, sweeping, and ward-off. It
stresses the coordination of hands, eyes, body and footwork. Originally,
the form comprised of 13 postures, and was expanded to 23 by the noted Master
Chen Zhao Pei in the 1930s."
-
Chen
Family Taiji Broadsword

”Classical
Tai Chi Chuan Sword, Taijiquan Jian 55 in the Yang Style: Comparison of Names
or Descriptions for the 55 Movements.” Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California, January 2008.
By Michael P. Garofalo. This document includes a detailed listing of the
names or brief descriptions of the 55 movements of the Classical Taijiquan Straight Sword
Form in the Yang Style of Taijiquan. This document includes names or brief descriptions
for each movement in English, Romanized Chinese (Pinyin and/or Wade Giles),
Chinese characters, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. The document
includes source citations and a bibliography. In PDF format, print only,
262Kb,
34 pages:
Webpage:
http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/Classical Taijiquan Yang Sword Form 55 List
Detailed.pdf

Yang Style Tai Chi Sword, Classical, List of Movements, 55 Movements”Classical
Tai Chi Chuan Sword, Taijiquan Jian 55 in the Yang Style: Comparison of
Names or Descriptions for the 55 Movements.” Green Way Research, Red
Bluff, California, January 2008. By Michael P. Garofalo. This document
includes a detailed listing of the names or brief descriptions of the 55
movements of the Classical Taijiquan Straight Sword Form in the Yang Style of
Taijiquan. This document includes names or brief descriptions for each
movement in English, Romanized Chinese (Pinyin and/or Wade Giles), Chinese
characters, Spanish, French, and German. The document includes source
citations and a bibliography. In PDF format, print only, 267Kb, 34 pages.